Lucky golden eagle returns to the wild

A lead-poisoned male golden eagle got a second chance at life in the wild after being released following rehabilitation Saturday.

The eagle was found by the side of the road in Exshaw in early November, 2012 and picked up and brought to an Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation clinic. According to wildlife rehabilitation technician, the outlook wasn’t good.

“We went and picked him up and brought him back to the clinic. He was hypothermic; it was pretty cold that time of year. He was pretty skinny too, almost emaciated, and usually when we get an eagle with those symptoms in that condition, not flying, not using its legs, the first thing we do is test its blood for lead. This guy’s levels were through the roof,” said Kowalzik.

“A lot of the time they can be poisoned for quite a while before they become grounded. I’m sure a lot of them we never find. We get multiple birds that present with lead poisoning every year unfortunately, but I’m sure that’s just a fraction of the ones that are out there.”

The eagle, a sub-adult thought to be around three to five years old, underwent a procedure called chelation, where the body is stripped of heavy metals in an attempt to remove lead from the system.

Following treatment of the lead poisoning, the eagle received intravenous hydration before he began accepting solid foods. From there, rehabilitators worked to bring the bird back to a healthy body weight and begin strengthening flight muscles to ensure a successful release.

Because the eagle was found mid-winter, he was kept over the remainder of the season so he could be released in conjunction with the annual spring migration, which occurs from roughly March to April. He was successfully released on Saturday in the Hay Meadows area just east of Nakiska ski area.

“It was really touch and go with him for the first few weeks, but it’s been a really successful recovery,” said Kowalzik.

“He’s really healthy, at a really good weight. His pectoral muscles are strong. It’s just a matter of him orienting himself and getting his bearings, and then he’ll be hopefully off with the rest of them.”